Thursday, 28 April 2011

Once a month the volunteers get to take part in a culture day. Culture day is a day set aside, where we go to Eddie's house (Eddie is our translator) and spend the day with our family.

We start the day off with 'market challenge'. We each get given a list of ingredients to go and buy at the market and a certain amount of money to spend. It's a race, so the fasted market shopper gets a prize. Due to the language barrier it can be tough actually buying the right things, but it is still fun trying to find your way around. There are also always plenty of people willing to help. Not that this always works because I managed to buy the wrong things in my first challenge even though I had a lot of help, which is ironic. The second time though I didn't get any help and won! My reward was a box of bicuits and a chocolate ha ha!

We then go to Eddie's house and help cook the local dish 'matapa'. We get to try all the traditional methods of cooking, from scrapping out coconuts, using a paladori (basically a special stool with a circular grater attached) to crushing the peanuts and molhos de matapa (in English= matapa leaves), using a Gadoo. This is definitely not how you spell it! It's official name is mossi and churi, which is basically a large pestle and mortar.

Unfortunately I can't eat matapa because of the peanuts, so Eddie's wife and neices made a special rice dish, which was really tasty.

I found it really interesting to see how sociable a thing cooking is here. We cooked on two open fires, outside under a tree and everyone helps out. Many people walk in and out just to see what's happening. They find it really funny watching us attempt the different cooking methods. they openly laugh at us, which I think is hilarious.

Whilst dinner is cooking we get the chance to play with Eddie's six children and their freiends. We take a box of games for them to play with, which they enjoy. Although, children being children, they usually find something else to play with. Maybe a stick or a plant ha ha!

Eddie has a huge garden and he grows alot of his own food. He showed us how and when to pick certain foods like sweetcorn and peanuts. I tried alot of different foods, which I really enjoyed. For example: cassava (the root of the matapa plant), sour fruit from the tree, coconut and coconut milk.

I have been lucky enough to experience two culture days and both have been just as good as each other!

Tuesday, 19 April 2011

My name is Zacarius, I live in Vilankulo and I'm 19 years old. I started firstly to learn English with African Impact in 2008 with Teacher Jude and in 2010 with teacher Kerrie and with other volunteers from different countries. With African Impact's help I'm in teacher training college in Vilankulo where I am learning to teach English and my other friends whom I studied with in African Impact's classes are working in different companies in Vilankulo. So I hope that after my English teacher training I will be an English teacher in a Primary school.

Thank you African Impact for your help.

Thanks so much Zacarius, you were a model student and welcome back anytime! We all wish you the best luck for the future :)

The above photo left to right is Zacarius. Kerrie and Beny (another English student).

Tuesday, 5 April 2011

Every Wednesday and Friday in the afternoon we teach English at Edson's class. There are three groups, separated in levels: beginners, intermediate and advanced.

The students are of all ages from young teenagers to adults. But what they have in common is that they really want to learn English. It's their own choice to sign up for joining, so they are motivated and that's nice to see. What we are doing in our lesson will help them to improve their English speaking and listening skills. It's a good thing that we can create this opportunity for the students; it's supporting their chances to get a good job in the future.

Thanks Lies! The current volunteers are great at planning and preparing for their English lessons and really are providing the best EFL education for their students- Kerrie

About Me

African Impact is a volunteer organization located in Vilanculos, Mozambique. We host volunteers from countries all around the world who come to assist our community development projects. These projects include a rural preschool, an adult-learner English school, traditional home-building for the disadvantaged, and HIV Education and outreach programs